The present invention relates to material handling vehicles, and more particularly to an ergonomically improved operator compartment for use in a material handling vehicle.
The operation of a forklift or other material handling vehicle requires the manipulation of an array of controls, levers, wheels, and switches for driving the vehicle forward and backward, steering the vehicle, and raising and lowering the forks, among other things. Due to the variety of control devices, operator compartments are frequently crowded with a variety of disparate controls, and these controls are typically located throughout the compartment, albeit within the reach of the operator.
To assure efficiency of use of the material handling vehicle, it is important that the controls be arranged ergonomically, such that the operator can easily reach and activate the controls with a minimal amount of movement. An ergonomic arrangement is important not only for maintaining the comfort of the operator, but also to maximize use of the vehicle by limiting the number of breaks that the operator needs to rest their hands, feet and/or back, which can become tired due to repetitive motions. By improving the comfort of the operator compartment, the need for operator down time can be reduced, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the vehicle.
To improve the ergonomics of the operator compartment, it is known to provide controls as part of or near the arm rests of the compartment, where they are within easy reach of the operator even while the arms of the operator are at rest. Positioning the controls on or near arm rests generally improves the ergonomics of the operator compartment. However, these arm rest arrangements are typically provided in a single size and height level, which is dimensioned to meet the needs of individual operators which fall within a predetermined “average” size. It is, however, inconvenient to select operators based entirely on whether they fit within “average” size guidelines, and can therefore be comfortably fitted into the operator compartment. Alternatively, adjustable arm rests can be provided. Adjustable rests, however, are time consuming, and, particularly when used frequently, have a tendency to break or fail. Furthermore, these arrangements require re-adjustment whenever an operator is changed, decreasing the overall efficiency of the vehicle. It is desirable, therefore, for the operator compartment to be sized in such a way that adult operators of all sizes can be made reasonably comfortable, thereby increasing the overall efficiency of the vehicle by allowing it to be comfortably operated by virtually any employee.
There remains a need, therefore, for an ergonomic operator compartment for use in a material handling vehicle such as a forklift or reach truck design.